SWR Headlite and Amplite Bass Amp Reviews

Certain iconic bass amps are known for
their signature sounds that astute bassists
can tell apart the same way a guitar-amp
gourmet can tell a Fender from a Marshall
while blindfolded. Ampeg equals warm and
aggressive. Gallien-Krueger tends toward an
edgy bite. SWR is known for its modern, hi-fi
sounds defined by clear highs, deep lows,
and scooped mids.

Over the years, I’ve owned two classic
SWR amps, the Bass 350 and the SM-400.
Both provided high-fidelity, authoritative
tones. So when I received the Headlite
and Amplite heads, my first question was,
would these new designs capture the
trademark SWR sound?

The quick answer is yes. And more. Let’s look
at some of the details.

Headlite: The Tiny Amp
with Full-Sized Features
Nearly every major bass amp company has
come up with a mini rig. SWR may be fashionably
late to the party, but they’ve put this
extra time to good use. Though it’s tiny, the
Headlite remains true to both the SWR sound
and feature set. I was amazed at how SWR
managed to sneak a 3-band EQ (with adjustable
frequency centers), a compressor, an
enhanced Aural Enhancer, an effects blend,
and an XLR direct out (with adjustable output
level, pre/post selection, and ground lift) into
an 8.5" x 9.75" package that weighs less than
4 pounds. The Headlite even sports a 12AX7
tube, just like its bigger siblings.

The Headlite offers another of my favorite
features—a front-panel mute switch connected
to a rear-panel tuner out (although it’s
labeled “Direct Out”). The mute also cuts off
the XLR direct out, so you’re not tuning into
the house sound system. A light on the front
panel serves double-duty, flashing yellow
when the compressor engages and blinking
red when the input clips. A power-amp clip
light indicates when the amp is hitting its
maximum level. In fact, the front panel is jampacked
with lights—six lights and four colors
(red, yellow, blue, green) in all.

As you might expect, shoehorning all these
features into such a diminutive package
necessitates a few trade-offs. For example,
many of the controls use a knob-in-knob
design. For example, a tone knob’s inner ring
cuts or boosts a frequency band, which is set
by the knob’s outer ring. Likewise, another
knob has FX Blend on the outside, and Comp
(compressor level) on the inside. Although a
careful bassist would have no problem with
the Headlite’s durability, I didn’t feel it would
be as sturdy as a typical full-sized rig.

Upon first glance, the other question most
bassists would have about the Headlite is
whether there’s enough power in this tiny
box. It all depends. The amp is rated at
400 watts RMS into 4 ohms. The manual
doesn’t spec 8-ohm output, but typically that
would be about 250 watts. Because the amp
doesn’t go down to 2 ohms, you can plan on
using one 4-ohm cab or two 8-ohm cabs to
hit maximum power. Given the right cabs—
which would need to provide sufficient cone
area and greater than 100 dB efficiency—the
Headlite should be able to keep up with most
bands playing at moderate volumes.

Headlite Tones:
Looks Little, Sounds Big
To test the Headlite, I plugged in my G&L
L-2500, a 5-stringer with plenty of highs, lows, and punch. To match the Headlite’s
tiny size, I hooked it up to my very efficient,
4-ohm Euphonic Audio Wizzy 12 cab. SWR
has its own Golight cabs, including a 4x10,
a 1x15, and a 2x10. These cabs are efficient
(105 dB) and should mate well with the
Headlite, but watch the impedance because
some are 4 ohm while others spec at 8 ohm.

I set the Aural Enhancer to the “classic” 200
Hz center, dialed it to the 1 o’clock position,
and left the three EQ knobs on their detented
flat settings. (Thank goodness for those
detents—the tiny black indicator dots on the
knobs are all but invisible unless they’re right
in your face.) Happily, this setting yielded
the classic SWR sound with a solid punch to
each note. Pushing the Enhancer’s shift button
provided a warmer version of the same
sound, with the scoop center moved up to
600Hz. Pressing the Enhancer’s knob defeats
its function, providing a flat-EQ sound
suitable for acoustic instruments. Engaging
this button to remove the Enhancer’s deep
bottom and crisp edge that worked so well
for electric bass, I played an Azola BugBass
electric upright through the Headlite and was
rewarded with a full, warm sound. I should
add that the Headlite’s compressor did a
good job of leveling out the sound without
totally squashing it.

Amplite: The Headlite
As a One-Knob Wonder
SWR’s new Amplite delivers the Headlite’s
power amp without all the additional controls
and features. It has just one knob on the
front that adjusts—you guessed it—the amp’s
volume level. The only other action on the
Amplite’s front panel is a set of power level
indicators that show when you’re getting all
the output the Amplite has to give. Poking
around the back of the Amplite, I found a pair
of Speakon connection jacks, a combo ¼"/XLR
input jack and a pass-though output jack for
sending the same signal to additional amps.

I tried an Aguilar Tone Hammer preamp
pedal straight into the Amplite and its
signal easily drove the Amplite. I also ran
the Preamp Out from the Headlite into the
Amplite, connected a 4-ohm speaker cab to
each unit, and used the Headlite’s Master
knob to adjust the volume of both devices.
Whether slaving with the Headlite or powering
a separate preamp, the Amplite is a
handy amp to keep around for an extra bit
of oomph.

The Final Mojo
The Headlite and Amplite came in one thickly
padded, divided bag with plenty of room
for speaker and power cables. I thought it
ironic that these two tiny amps ship with a 6',
12-gauge speaker cable and a long, heavy
power cord. Combined, they weigh nearly as much as the Amplite itself. For my own micro
amps, I carry a 2', 16-gauge speaker cable
that gets the job done just fine.

I do have a few quibbles. One is that the
knob indicator dots are nearly invisible.
Another is that these two amps have alwayson
fans. Although they’re not loud, they are
audible and might knock the Headlite out
of contention for recording studio or home
practice if you’re fussy. Neither of my tiny
amps with similar power specs has a fan, and
a buddy’s micro amp has a heat-sensitive fan
that only comes on when it’s needed. SWR
might consider changing the fan design to
boost the Headlite’s versatility. Finally, the
feet on these amps are made of a fairly hard
material. As a result, the amp may slide while
you’re making adjustments.

In all, the Headlite captures SWR’s signature
tone and packs a lot of features into an
incredibly small package. An optional footswitch
includes muting, effects-loop switching,
and a tuner to make the device even
more convenient. So if you’re after a tiny
amp that works well with electric bass, the
Headlite (and its Amplite sibling) might be
just the answer.

Buy if...
you need a versatile micro bass amp
and you can get the job done with
400 watts at 4 ohms.Skip if...
you play loud, loud, loud—or soft
enough that you’d notice the internal
fan—or you’re rough on your gear.
Rating...